Compact with Texans

The Texas Board of Nursing implemented the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 1, 2000. The Compact provides for states to recognize a license from another state. You will find more information about the Compact on the Texas Board of Nursing's web site. Our goal is to give the same priority to complaints against nurses who reside in Texas but violate the laws of another Compact state.

The Texas Board of Nursing affords individuals an opportunity to speak directly to its membership at its regularly scheduled meetings during open forums. If you wish to address the Texas Board of Nursing on any matter under its jurisdiction, please contact Patricia Vianes-Cabrera at 512/305-6811 for dates and times.

We are also interested in your comments on the services provided by the Texas Board of Nursing. To address any concerns related to customer service, you may contact the Texas Board of Nursing Customer Service Representative, Bruce Holter at 512/305-6842 or through e-mail at bruce.holter@bon.texas.gov.

Services Provided

The Texas Board of Nursing provides the following services to its external customers:

Licensing Services: The Texas Board of Nursing licenses nurses as new graduates through examination and endorsement from other states. All nurses are required to renew their license on an biennial basis with evidence of required continuing nursing education. The Texas Board of Nursing licenses qualified registered nurses to enter practice as advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), including nurse anesthetists, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse midwives. The processing time required for licensing services is 10 working days from receipt of all required documents, but is often accomplished more quickly. Licensure issues such as past criminal behavior may lengthen these time lines substantially because they must be referred to the Enforcement Department for investigation. Licensure services include:

Approval of an applicant to sit for the national licensure examination.

Issuance of a license following successful examination.

Issuance of a temporary license by endorsement pending complete verification in all states of licensure.

Issuance of a permanent license upon completion of all application requirements.

Renewal of a nursing license.

Interim approval for eligible APRNs relocating to Texas.

Full APRN licensure following completion of all application requirements.

Renewal of APRN licensure.

Maintain a registry of Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists who practice in certain outpatient settings that are not otherwise regulated.

Program Approval Services: The Texas Board of Nursing approves schools of nursing which prepare nurses for initial entry into nursing practice. The Texas Board of Nursing also approves new APRN programs not accredited by a national nursing accreditation agency. At the present time, there are 107 professional schools of nursing are approved by the Texas Board of Nursing and 97 vocational schools of nursing are approved by the Texas Board of Nursing. Accreditation services include:

Annual review of approval status of all nursing education programs.

Survey visits to programs not holding national nursing accreditation at least once every 6 years. Triggers, such as a drop in the pass rate of graduates on the national licensure examination or complaints from consumers, may result in more frequent on-site surveys of programs.

Enforcement Services: The Texas Board of Nursing enforces the Nursing Practice Act and Texas Board of Nursing Rules and Regulations by setting minimum standards for nursing practice and nursing education, conducting investigations of complaints against nurses and adjudicating complaints. This is most often accomplished through informal settlement. If we are unable to settle informally with the nurse, we will proceed to formal, contested resolution through the State Office of Administrative Hearings. Time lines for enforcement services are as follows but may be delayed by formal contested resolution:

Complainants receive letters on the status of their complaints every 90 days and, if a case is unresolved after 1 year, a letter of explanation is sent to the complainant.

Complaints can be filed at any time against a nurse by completing a written complaint form transmitted by US mail, fax, or e-mail. The form is available by several venues. A toll-free number hosted by the Health Professions Council receives complaints against various health care professionals. Following receipt of a call to this number, a complaint form is mailed to the complainant. The form is also available at the Texas Board of Nursing's web site: www.bon.texas.gov along with explanations of the complaint process. Complaints are also received over the telephone in the agency and a form is then mailed to the complainant.

Information Services: The Texas Board of Nursing provides various information to customers including verbal, written and electronic information. The Texas Board of Nursing's web site contains information including the Nursing Practice Act, Texas Board of Nursing Rules and Guidelines, Texas Board of NursingPosition Statements, the agency's physical location, and disciplinary and licensure information. Publications of the Texas Board of Nursing are available upon request for a minimal fee. Time lines for requests for information by venues other than the Internet are as follows:

Requests for general information by telephone: Our goal is to answer or return all calls received by noon by the close of the business day and all calls received after noon by noon on the following work day. This is a challenge since the agency receives approximately 250,000 calls a year.

Nurses are informed of standards, laws, rule changes and changes in Texas Board of Nursing policy through webinars, quarterly newsletters and 6-8 workshops per year conducted by the Texas Board of Nursing in rotating sites throughout the state.

Requests for information via the Texas Board of Nursing's webmaster: Our goal is to respond to e-mail requests within 24 hours.

The Texas Board of Nursing's web site also contains consumer links to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing where consumer oriented information is available, including contact information for other state boards of nursing, information on chemical dependency in the nursing profession and information on expected professional boundaries that nurses should maintain in their relationships with patients.

Open Records requests will be answered within 10 days unless an Attorney General Opinion is sought through the Attorney General's Office.

Licensure verification requests are answered within 10 working days.

Publications and orders of labels or lists are mailed within 10 working days of the request.

The Texas Board of Nursing's newsletter is mailed to nurses and other subscribers quarterly.

Service Standards

The agency is committed to providing excellent service to our customers, the citizens of Texas. We will provide prompt, professional, and courteous service in person, as well as on the telephone, through correspondence, and over the Internet. We will provide materials which are clear and understandable. We will respond to requests for information in a timely manner. We will seek feedback and respond to the feedback of our customers.